That’s right. The Hi-Point YC9, also known as the Yeet Cannon, has finally arrived! And we’ve got our hands on one of them.

In January, 2020 at the annual SHOT Show in Las Vegas, NV, I walked into the Hi-Point booth. My buddy Dave was excited to show me their new prototype pistol. “It doesn’t even have a name yet,” he explained. The pistol was a departure from the standard Hi-Point C9 in that it was supposed to come with a factory threaded barrel, the option to mount a red dot optic, and a redesigned magazine that would hold more that the standard 8 rounds. The slide and frame were also redesigned for a more modern look. Anticipated release was late 2020.

We all returned home from SHOT having heard the rumors of a new virus coming out of China. However, Hi-Point kept up the PR for the new gun and held an online contest to name the pistol. In a case of “be careful what you wish for”, the public overwhelmingly voted to call it the “Yeet Cannon”. 

As we all know, sometime around March 2020, the wheels fell off of the world and the state-controlled media spun the planet into a full blown panic. Americans did what they always do during a crisis, they ran out and bought guns. Overnight, firearms makers went into back order status. Hundreds of manufacturers were now fighting for the same raw materials; barrel steel, aluminum, and even polymer. “I never in my life thought that I would be put on a waiting list for raw polymer,” one of my close friends in the gun business told me, “but I’m on a six month wait list now.” 

Such was the state of the industry. Manufacturers who displayed new models at SHOT now found themselves unable to fill orders for existing products. All of the new stuff was put on indefinite hold and that included Hi-Point Firearms. 

The much anticipated Hi-Point YC9 “Yeet Cannon”

YC9: Yeet Cannon; the Wait is Over

While some gun makers over the years have operated under the idea of “ship it now, we’ll fix it later”. Hi-Point being a small, family owned business refused to do so. First, they needed to fill the demand for existing products, then they were able to put their R&D team (and financial resources) onto the YC9 project.

The stated goal from SHOT 2020 was unchanged; build a modern looking Hi-Point pistol with upgraded features. Putting a fixed, threaded barrel on the new gun was not so tough. Neither was machining the slide to accept a red dot mount. The big challenge was working with the redesigned frame and the brand new magazine design.

Well, the wait is finally over. As of press time, Hi-Point Firearms is taking orders for the brand new YC9 or the “Yeet Cannon” in 9x19mm. Go to your local dealer and ask for it.   

New Features

Out of the box, the YC9 has a redesigned slide with forward and rear cocking serrations and a new shape. The polymer frame is also with unique textured grip panels and a rubber backstrap. Above the back strap is a grip safety that you might not even notice if someone didn’t point it out to you.

Hi-Point pistols have always used a fixed barrel and blowback action. This remains unchanged. The factory threaded barrel uses the American 9mm standard 1/2×28 TPI pattern. Atop the slide you will find the typical Hi-Point sights, subdued red in the rear and yellow in the front. The front sight is “Glock compatible” meaning you can remove the factory sight and replace it with a G17 style front sight in fiber optic or Tritium or whichever you choose. 

On the YC9 you can remove two screws; one Allen-style and one flathead then replace the rear sight with either a Picatinny rail or a dedicated red dot optic plate. Both of these are available as accessories. 

The red dot plate is currently made for the Shield RMS footprint. Crimson Trace builds a mini red dot in this style and Hi-Point will be offering a pistol/CT red dot combination package very soon.

The new magazine is a 10 round version using a taping double-stack design. The polymer floor plate looks very similar to other modern pistols and has the common “finger rest”. Each YC9 ships with one magazine additional mags can be purchased directly from Hi-Point.    

The YC9 with options Crimson Trace mini red dot and mount. 

First Shots

The day we picked the YC9 up from our FFL dealer, Jarrad and I drove to the range to test it out. We were prepping for a rifle class, but we took the time to launch about fifty rounds through the gun in factory configuration. The only thing I did was squirt a bit of Froglube (Use promo code “SOTG” at Froglube for a discount) on the slide rails. We were both able to pop a steel prairie dog target at 25 yards as long as we did our parts.

The ammo we had on hand consisted of Wolf 115 grain FMJ and some Black Hills Ammunition Honey Badger defensive rounds. The Honey Badger uses a unique non-expanding bullet that performs as well or better than typical hollow-points. Neither Jarra nor I had any issues with the pistol. 

Second Shots

A few days later, I took the Yeet Cannon to the range after installing a Crimson Trace mini red dot sight using the Hi-Point mounting plate. The windage was right on and it took me about 5 or 6 shots to get the dot zeroed at point of aim from ten yards.

Along for the ride was my “variety pack” can of 9mm ammunition. For years I have been dumping partially emptied boxes of defensive 9x19mm ammunition in the can along with full boxes of training loads. Inside the can was fodder from Black Hills, CCI, Federal, Fiocchi, Remington, Speer, Winchester, Wolf/Tula and the new Defiant Munitions. (Use the “SOTG” promo code at Defiant for a discount)   

Bottom Line Up Front: the new gun was not a fan of traditional jacketed hollow-point ammunition. It gobbled up all the FMJ from Wolf, etc. but often choked on the more expensive Federal and Winchester duty hollow-points.

This is where many readers will part ways. The MSRP for the new stock YC9 is $225. Some folks will say, “If I can’t run my Hydra-Shoks through it, I don’t want it.” While others cannot even fathom the idea of shooting a dollar a shot 9mm through such an ‘economical’ firearm. The irony of this story is that the premium Black Hills Honey Badger ran in the gun without issue.   

“Is the gun accurate?”  With a standing, two hand hold, using the red dot, I was able to cut a ragged hole in the head of the cardboard silhouette. Ten rounds in one big hole. I walked back to around 15 meters and was able to ring the steel half-silhouette without issue. 

I fired the gun single handed right and left without any stoppages. Also, some of you might be wondering, can I “top off” the gun for a total of 11. The answer is yes. I performed the load one, added a full mag of 10 drills several times and did not have any issues.  Don’t laugh, not every gun will function reliably when “topped off”. 

The YC9 is a full sized gun with a 4 inch barrel and empty weight of 34 ounces. Therefore the felt recoil was minimal as you would expect. All told, between Jarrad and I, we shot around 300 rounds through the gun before I sat down to write this piece.   

The author on the range with the Yeet Cannon.

Silencing the Cannon

With the vast majority of handguns, the barrel unlocks and moves during the cycling of the gun. The YC9 has a straight blowback action and the barrel is fixed in place. The threading is a standard 1/2×28 TPI, the most common for American handguns. 

If you have used silencers on handguns, you will know that can makers put a buffer or piston in their suppressors to ensure reliability as the barrel rocks/tilts during the cycle of operation. The Yeet Cannon barrel does not rock or tilt. The question then becomes, does a silencer mounted to the YC9 need the piston spring or should I remove it and add a spacer. Our answer to that inquiry is; it depends on the can. If you live in Free America and can legally possess a silencer, you are going to have to try it out for yourself. 

Regarding sound moderators, because the front sight sits relatively high over the centerline of the bore on the YC9, a “tall” or “suppressor height” front sight is NOT needed. You can light up the factory sights on target with a silencer in place. 

The YC9 comes from the factory with a threaded barrel

Special suppressor height sights are NOT needed.

Parting Thoughts

We’re all adults here and we know how MSRP works. I believe that Bass Pro/Cabelas are the only shops who charge full MSRP for the guns they sell. Everywhere else you can expect to drop about 2 bills on a Yeet Cannon.

What do you get for a couple of Benjamins? You get a full sized pistol that has a factory threaded barrel, you have the option to pick up adapters and mount a CT mini red dot or any red dot that uses a Picatinny mount. If you are feeling froggy, you can swap out the factory front sight for a slick fiber optic model. Also, I have it on good authority that the Crimson Trace package YC9 will set you back about 3 bills. That is quite a value-added package. 

Lastly, if you are one of the thousands of people who cast your vote for the name “Yeet Cannon” back in 2020, you get the pride of ownership knowing that you influenced the unique moniker and you can troll your hater friends. That’s it, now go fight it out amongst yourselves.

Specifications

• Caliber 9x19mm
• Capacity 10 (+1)
• Action Semi-automatic
• Barrel Length 4.12 inches
• Overall Length 7.6 inches
• Weight (empty) 34.2 ouncesOverall Height 5.8 inches

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Professor Paul Markel

Founder & CEO at Student of the Gun

Paul G. Markel has worn many hats during his lifetime. He has been a U.S. Marine, Police Officer, Professional Bodyguard, and Small Arms and Tactics Instructor. Mr. Markel has been writing professionally for law enforcement and firearms periodicals for nearly twenty years with hundreds and hundreds of articles in print. Paul is a regular guest on nationally syndicated radio talk shows and subject matter expert in firearms training and use of force. Mr. Markel has been teaching safe and effective firearms handling to students young and old for decades and has worked actively with the 4-H Shooting Sports program. Paul holds numerous instructor certifications in multiple disciplines and a Bachelor’s degree in conflict resolution; nonetheless, he is and will remain a dedicated Student of the Gun.

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